The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, highly maneuverable, all-weather tactical jet fighter, designed to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful of modern jet fighters with 104 aerial combat victories to its credit, with no losses (combined figure across all user-air forces). The F-15 Eagle first flew in July 1972 and entered service with the USAF in 1976. It is expected to remain in service with the USAF until 2025.

Developed as a derivative of the F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter, McDonnell Douglas' (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle has a radically different mission: to launch deep interdiction missions without additional fighter support or jamming. Since its first flight in 1986, the F-15E has performed a variety of missions including deep strikes against high-value enemy targets in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Allied Force, and providing close air support. It can carry over 23,000 pounds of payload, including the JDAM, AIM-9X, AGM-130 and AMRAAM, and is equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array radar system. With its service life expected to reach to 2035 and beyond, the F-15E can be said to serve as the backbone of the U.S. Air Force. Its unparalleled range, persistence and weapons load make it indispensable. Developed in 1990, this 660-page, unclassified F-15E pilot manual is a wonderful resource for museum docents, historians, modelers, gamers, and anyone else who ever wondered what it would be like to sit in the cockpit of the Strike Eagle.

Many of the aircraft that form the backbone of the U.S. Air Force operational fleet are 25 years old or older. A few of these will be replaced with new aircraft, but many are expected to remain in service an additional 25 years or more. This book provides a strategy to address the technical needs and priorities associated with the Air Force's aging airframe structures. It includes a detailed summary of the structural status of the aging force, identification of key technical issues, recommendations for near-term engineering and management actions, and prioritized near-term and long-term research recommendations.

The US-designed and built McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is one of the most important Fourth Generation fighters in the world. Its twin-engine, twin-tails (canted outwards), and leading edge root extensions make it one of the most recognizable fighters in operation. The latest version is the enlarged Super Hornet. It was controversial in being chosen as the replacement for the much loved F-14 Tomcat, but the truth is that it is a potent and fearsome fighter that boasts one of the most capable radars in service and a weapons loadout that takes full advantage of it. The Super Hornet currently performs the bulk of the Western world's airstrikes on the nefarious terrorist group 'ISIS' in Iraq and Syria. Developed initially by Northrop as the P-530 Cobra in response to the US Air Force's Light Weight Fighter competition (winner: the General Dynamics F-16), the Hornet had a troubled start in life. Designated the YF-17 for the LWF fly-off in 1974, it failed to impress the Air Force. However, contractor McDonnell Douglas stepped in confident that it could be improved sufficiently to make it a contender for the US Navy's new fighter competition. McAir, as was often the case, were right. Re-designed and re-designated the F/A-18 (fighter/attack), it won the competition and entered service with the US Navy as a carrier-borne, multi-role fighter, marking the beginning of the Hornet's journey from Air Force 'reject' to 'king' of the US Navy's Fleet Defenders

Officially called the Fighting Falcon by the USAF (a name loathed by pilots and ground crews), the F-16 is popularly referred to as the "Viper". First introduced into service with the USAF in 1978, the F-16 is a successful all-weather multi-role jet fighter of which more than 4,500 have been built and exported to 25 countries worldwide. It remains in service more than 30 years later. The Viper incorporates a number of innovative design features that include a frameless bubble canopy for better visibility, pilot's side-mounted control stick for ease of control when manoeuvring, a seat reclined 30 degrees to reduce the effect of g-forces on the pilot, and the first use of a relaxed static stability/fly-by-wire flight control system that makes the Viper a highly agile aircraft. At the 'business end' the F-16 has an internal M61 Vulcan cannon and eleven weapon-mounting stations.

Except in a few instances, since World War II no American soldier or sailor has been attacked by enemy air power. Conversely, no enemy soldier orsailor has acted in combat without being attacked or at least threatened by American air power. Aviators have brought the air weapon to bear against enemies while denying them the same prerogative. This is the legacy of the U.S. AirForce, purchased at great cost in both human and material resources.More often than not, aerial pioneers had to fight technological ignorance, bureaucratic opposition, public apathy, and disagreement over purpose.Every step in the evolution of air power led into new and untrodden territory, driven by humanitarian impulses; by the search for higher, faster, and farther flight; or by the conviction that the air way was the best way. Warriors have always coveted the high ground. If technology permitted them to reach it, men, women andan air force held and exploited it-from Thomas Selfridge, first among so many who gave that "last full measure of devotion"; to Women's Airforce Service Pilot Ann Baumgartner, who broke social barriers to become the first Americanwoman to pilot a jet; to Benjamin Davis, who broke racial barriers to become the first African American to command a flying group; to Chuck Yeager, a one-time non-commissioned flight officer who was the first to exceed the speed of sound; to John Levitow, who earned the Medal of Honor by throwing himself over a live flare to save his gunship crew; to John Warden, who began a revolution in air power thought and strategy that was put to spectacular use in the Gulf War.Industrialization has brought total war and air power has brought the means to overfly an enemy's defenses and attack its sources of power directly. Americans have perceived air power from the start as a more efficient means of waging war and as a symbol of the nation's commitment to technology to master challenges, minimize casualties, and defeat adversaries.

Provides history on America's next generation of fighter plane, known as the F-22 Raptor.